千夫所指 (qiān fū suǒ zhǐ) — (idiom) to be condemned by everyone; target of universal criticism

Definition

A formal chengyu meaning 'condemned by everyone' — 千夫 literally 'a thousand men', so the weight is universal public denunciation, not just disagreement. Used in writing about notorious wrongdoing or figures.

idiom
to be condemned by everyonetarget of universal criticism

Examples

  • 千夫所指。
    Tā yīn wèi tān wū chéng le qiān fū suǒ zhǐ de duì xiàng.
    He became the target of universal condemnation because of corruption.
  • ，千夫所指。
    Zài lì shǐ shàng, zhè zhǒng bào xíng zǎo yǐ qiān fū suǒ zhǐ.
    In history, such atrocities have long been condemned by everyone.
  • ，千夫所指，。
    Tā zuò le zhè yàng de shì, zhēn shì qiān fū suǒ zhǐ, wú jí ér zhōng.
    Having done such a thing, he truly was condemned by all and died a disgraceful death.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
一一yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

夫 originally drew a man. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write a pronoun, so the picture and the pronoun meaning are unrelated.

Open 夫 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
斤斤jīnaxe
Sound part声符shēngfú
戶
戶hù所suǒ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

所 pairs 斤, an axe, with 戶, which gives the sound hù; the old meaning was the sound of logging.

Open 所 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
旨
旨zhǐ指zhǐ
Same sound today

The left part 扌 is the hand form 手. The right part 旨 gives the sound.

Open 指 →

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